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BIRDS OF AMERICA 



WILD TURKEY 

 Meleagris gallopavo silvestris Vieillot 



A. O. U. Xuniljer 310a 



Other Names. — American Turkey; Eastern Turkey; 

 Xortliern Turkey ; Wood Turkey ; American Wild 

 Turkey. 



General Description. — Length, male, 4 feet; female, 

 3 feet. Prevailing color, iridescent copper-bronze. 

 Head and neck, naked. 



Color. — ."Xdult M.\le: The naked skin of the head 

 and neck, dififerent shades of red, the excrescences more 

 purplish or blue; the feathers are broad with square 

 ends, each one well defined, giving the bird the appear- 

 ance of being covered with scales, their ground color 

 coppery-bronze, abruptly margined with velvet-black, 

 the bronze assuming a greenish or purplish shade where 

 the two colors meet; lower back and rump, black with 

 little or no gloss ; upper and under tail-coverts, dark 

 purplish-chestnut with a subterminal bar of black; 

 tail, dark-brownish with numerous traverse bars of 

 black and a broad subterminal bar of the same color 



from two inches wide on the outer feathers to about 

 one inch on the central ones, spaces between the black 

 bars speckled with dusky; bill, yellowish-white tinged 

 with red ; legs, red, the scales outlined with yellowish- 

 white ; claws, black ; iris, deep brown. Adult Fem.\le : 

 Head and neck, smooth, pinkish or pale reddish ; rest 

 of the plumage very much duller than in the male and 

 with little or no metallic gloss. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Placed on the ground, in 

 tall dense weeds or tangled thickets ; very well con- 

 cealed. Eggs: 9 to 18, usually 9 to 12, warm yellowish- 

 white evenly dotted over the entire surface with red- 

 dish-brown. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States from Nebraska, 

 Kansas, western Oklahoma, and eastern Texas east to 

 central Pennsylvania, and south to the Gulf coast ; 

 formerly north to South Dakota, southern Ontario, and 

 southern Maine. 



When, early in the sixteenth century, the 

 Spanish conquerors invaded Mexico, they found 

 the natives in possession of some large domesti- 

 cated birds which were extremely toothsome. 

 Some were transferred to Spain and it was 

 found they would breed readily in captivity. In 

 time these birds were introduced into France and 

 England, and by and by emigrants brought them 

 back to America. The Turkey in its native con- 

 dition is distinctively a North American species. 

 The wild birds in this cotintry today chiefly in- 

 habit deep woods and the borders of swamp- 

 lands. In the southwest one may look for them 

 among the chaparral in the neighborhood of 

 streams, or in the oak and ])inon groves. 



At one time they were very abundant in many 

 places, and early writers tell of their custom of 

 gathering in flocks of hundreds and migrating on 

 foot for long distances in quest of forest mast 

 upon which they fed extensively. This habit of 

 collecting in large flocks may still be noted in 

 some regions, as for example on some of the 

 islands ofif the coast of Georgia. 



Wild Turkeys are polygatnists, a strong gobbler 

 having two or three hens under his observation. 



When the laying time approaches, the hens steal 

 away and make their nests in the grass or bttshes 

 in some open place in the woods, or abandoned 

 bush-grown fields. They hide their nests with 

 great care, not only to avoid foxes and other 

 predatory animals, but to prevent detection by 

 the gobbler. It is unanimously believed that he 

 will break the eggs if he comes upon a nest. 

 After the nesting season, groups of from ten to 

 forty birds may be found feeding together in the 

 bottom lands or coming into the crop field at 

 dawn. 



They are usually hunted with dogs. A well- 

 trained Turkey dog upon finding a group of 

 birds rushes barking among them, thus causing 

 the Turkeys to fly in all directions. The hunter 

 goes to the spot, erects a small blind of logs or 

 brush, calls in his dog, and sits down to wait for 

 a time. In about an hour he begins to sound his 

 call, imitating the get-together notes of the Tur- 

 key. If fortune smiles ttpon him he will in the 

 end get two or three birds, for the Turkeys have 

 the habit of reassembling at the ]:)Iace from 

 which they scattered when disturbed. 



T. Gilbert Pearson. 



